If wine and dine is your idea as the way of life, The Spot at Marina One The Heart is definitely not to be missed. Spanning across a 99 seaters space, The Spot is a multi-concept venue comprising an all-day café, restaurant and bar! Oh yes, not to forget the cigar bar, 1855 The Bottle Shop and South East Asia’s first and only The Macallan Boutique @ 1855 that are located strategically near each other. Hold your excitement as I share with you more!
One of the most exciting part about The Spot for anyone who has yet to visit this multi-concept venue is definitely The Macallan Boutique @ 1855 as it is one of its kind as Southeast Asia’s first domestic retail space. Not only can you have a guided flight tasting of The Macallan whiskies at the in-house tasting bar, there is an extensive range of exquisite whiskies, limited editions and merchandise will be available at this flagship boutique! For more details, please visit www.themacallan.com
Somehow, whiskey and hand-rolled Cuban cigar go hand in hand and this is where one would be delighted to find the Cigar Lounge in an intimate secluded soundproof spot accessable either from The Spot or The Macallan Boutique @ 1855!
How can any wine aficionado miss the wine here? The Spot’s partner, 1855 The Bottle Shop, has brought in more than 800 labels, of both New and Old World wines as well as spirits, which of many are exclusive and cannot be found elsewhere in Singapore! You can either enjoy the wines at the Spot or just grab one for a romantic night out as a takeaway.
To start the night, I had Madame Nhu, a Hendrick’s gin based cocktail, that was inspired by the flowers in Vietnam.Hence, one can find this cocktail laced with a lovely floral note and entwindled with well balanced acidity. We jokingly said that this was she as she was garnished with dehydrated Rosella but I really thought it was a nice cocktail to whet my appetite for the night ahead.
The Roasted Carrot Soup ($18) was surprisingly light and refreshing as compared to any carrot soup elsewhere. I like the layers of different textures from the two different types of chorizo – fresh
chorizo, and air-dried Spanish chorizo as well as the rye crumb. Although there were some acidity to it, it was pleasant and well rounded. Even my bff, leong, who prefer minimal acidity in his food, enjoed the soup a LOT!
I couldn’t agreed less when my dining partner shared that the Charred Grilled Octopus ($25) was one of her favourite item on the menu. The flavours of this dish was provocative! The octopus was cold marinated in oil infused with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, garlic and shallots for a minimum of 1 day and seasoned with salt and pepper, then grilled to perfection (soft and tender) before sliced and served. The preserved green papaya slaw added another dimension of flavours and texture while stimulating your appetite to welcome the mains.
When I heard that Local Skate ($25) was served with pearl rice risotto, I was a bit half redundant to try as I was trying to cut my carb intake. But the dried sole and coriander broth was too hard to resist! It was so comforting and soul warming like a good fish soup filled with the natural sweetness from the sea. The salmon roe added some savoriness to the dish and also elevated the taste profile. Oh yes, remember to chop chop eat it after the broth was poured in.
One of my favourite dish was the Pan-fried Red Snapper ($28). The green curry emulsion captured the essence of what an authentic Thai Green Curry should be and yet being lighter on the palatte as compared. The Thai ping pong eggplant added more texture to the dish and it was unanimously to be one of the best Thai Green Curry rendition around!
One of my dining partner commented that the Glazed Local Duck Breast ($28) reminded him of Peking Duck while I thought that the skin of the duck was no doubt crispy, I like that the duck was soft, tender and flavoursome. But the most impressive part of the dish was the housemade chrysanthemum honey glaze and the plum ginger vinegar which added a different dimension of flavours and made this dish so light and appetizing.
Beef Short Ribs ($40) which used Australian beef short ribs were fork tender and well seasoned. The Java Long Pepper Sauce was very aromatic and came with a fiery kick from the peppercorn. Definitely not for the fainted hearted ones but those who can take the heat would be rewarded with a mouth watering dish!
Just like a chinese bak kwa, the Pork Cheek “BBQ” ($26) was marinated in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, five spice, fine salt, white pepper and pure honey for at least 1 day, sous-vide in marinade at 80 degrees celsius for 2 hours and grilled before serving. The accompanying caramel vinegar which was a reduction of Chin Kiang Vinegar with caramelised white sugar and butter as well as housemade chicken stock, dark soy sauce and cream blended til smooth. It was served with a classic potato mousseline made with boiled US Idaho potatoes, cream, milk, butter, salt and pepper as well as house-pickled cabbage and sauteed daikon chunks, then garnished with a sprinkle of pork floss over the pork jowl.
Licourice was often not a preferred ingredient as it was quite an acquired tasted. However, Licorice Root Ice Cream ($15) at The Spot was just the perfect way to end the night. The housemade licorice root ice cream is an egg-based ice cream made in-house with licorice root powder and malt extract and paired with candied parsnips sticks on a bed of coffee crumble together with Malt Molasses. The well balanced dessert with different layers of textures and sweetness was definitely a great way to wrap up this 10/10 dinner.
However, if you would just like to have a couple of cocktails or drinks after work, happy hours start from 5pm to 9pm. But I urge you to try at least the food here once as Chef Lee Boon Seng is really good at introducing Southeast Asian flavours to the European cuisine.
The Spot
5 Straits View #01-26/27 Marina One The Heart Singapore 018935
Tel: +65 6284 2637
Email: hello@thespot.sg
Operating Hours: Monday – Friday: 7:30am – 11:00pm
Saturday: 5:30pm – 11:00pm
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